We inherited our love for wine and winemaking from our forbears who built oak wine barrels in northeastern Romania since the 19^th century and later in Israel from before the establishment of the State of Israel.

In 1970 Ruth and Elie Benhaim founded their eponymous family winery, making and selling wine at their house in Ramat Gan, and after 27 harvests opened a boutique winery in Kfar Azar. A decade later the winery moved to a large, new building in Ramat Hasharon – where it continues to operate today. Both Ruth and Elie, along with their sons Itai and Yenon are all involved in making Benhaim’s fine wines.

Itay Ben-Haim is Benhaim’s chief winemaker and a sixth generation vintner who draws inspiration from his family history, where wine culture and the traditional art of coopering has been carefully handed down from generation to generation for over 135 years. He was an active participant in wine production from his early childhood, all the while acquiring practical knowledge and experience, following the family tradition.

He studied the chemistry of wine at Israel’s Wine Institute and for three years specialized in modern wine technology under the supervision of Dr. Arkadi Papikian. He learned the art of wine tasting from the great Bordeaux oenologist, Georges Azougui Bordeaux and apprenticed at several leading French wineries.

After getting his degree in marketing and business administration at an American university, and following the Benhaim Winery’s award as “Best Cabernet Sauvignon Europe 2000,” Itay was appointed as Chief Winemaker and manager of the winery’s vineyards on Mount Meron. He also serves as a judge in international wine competitions.

During his tenure as winemaker, Benhaim wines have been awarded more than 30 international gold medals.

Kosher Certification

Since 2001, Benhaim wines have been certified kosher by the Upper Galilee Regional Chief Rabbinate, the Ramat Hasharon Rabbinate, the international kashruth supervising organization “OK”, Rabbi Dov Landau and Badatz Beit Yosef. The wines are not mevushal.